Birthday Surprise
by Arsha Clarek
Summary: Abby's feeling down because of her co-workers actions- or lack thereof. But what happens when she realizes she's not alone upon entering her apartment?


Disclamer: you know the drill- I don't own NCIS.

This popped into my head on birthday last week when I thought everyone forgot my birthday- and it was raining. But it ended up as one of the best birthdays ever, so yay!

I wasn't really sure where this was going so...i just wrote.

I hope you enjoy!

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><p>Abby Scuito was in a foul mood. Much like the weather on this <em>terrible<em> day, she was dark and cranky. No one would ever guess that today was her birthday.

As she drove out of the NCIS parking lot, the alarm on her phone, set to the _Big Ben_ tone, chimed at midnight.

_And now, it's over, _she thought.

Things went horribly; Gibbs forgot dinner the night before. McGee said nothing. Ducky hardly spoke to her at all. Palmer avoided her. Ziva was

snappish. Tony was just acting strange. And to top it all off, the director piled them with paperwork, so she was stuck down there all day.

And it was still raining. _Happy freakin' birthday to me._

She opened the door to her apartment with slight difficulty; but, like most things, responded once she delivered a strong kick to it. She tossed her keys onto the table next to the couch, slipped her shoes off and slipped into the kitchen.

But to her surprise, it was occupied. But the other occupant didn't quite realize she was there. It was McGee. He was hovering between the sink, the stove and the fridge. He was mixing a batter- a still very lumpy batter-and referring to the back of a _Betty Crocker_ box. She slunk back to the corner of her still-dark living room.

"Hey, Tony how are the balloons coming?" He called.

An audible _pop_ was heard from her guest room. "Tony?"

"It's coming along, though, that's the third already. I've already got four blown up."

"Four? That's it? You've been there for a half an hour! Who knows when-"

There was a knock at the door. McGee, who was standing in the kitchen, froze. Three sequential knocks followed the first. Abby could see his shoulders relax instantly. He placed the batter, now in the pan, into the oven and opened the door, walking right past the crouching goth.

In walked Ziva and Gibbs, raincoats and hoods still up and dripping. Ziva was carrying a large box wrapped in plain black paper, a large pink bowresting on top. Gibbs was carrying bouquet of her traditional black flowers. Tony walked in at that moment carrying, not four, but 6 black balloons.

"Well done McGee. I don't know how you managed to do it, but you actually were able to pull together a birthday party in a half an hour."Tony commented as he tied the balloons to the chairs.

"Now all we need to do is wait for Ducky and Palmer to show up with the birthday girl."

As if on cue, Ducky and Palmer walked in the door, both soaking wet. Gibbs took one look at them before posing a question. McGee asked at the same time.

"Where's Abby?" Palmer looked at Ducky, who in turn, looked at Gibbs with a sigh.

"I couldn't find her. I thought she would have arrived here, with you all. Her car was gone."

"Lemme get this straight…Abby's missing?" Gibbs asked sternly.

It was then she choose to emerge from her hiding spot.

"I'm right here Gibbs. " The team whirled around to face her.

"How long have you been here Abby?" McGee asked, bewildered by the fact that his best friend could walk into the room without him noticing.

"Since you put the cake on." She shrugged.

"The cake!" he exclaimed as he checked his watch.

He ran into the kitchen and pulled out a cake, which now resembled the balloons and presents- burned black to a crisp.

"Sorry, Abs." He said as he put the cake on the table. " I just wanted this all to be perfect. I felt bad that we couldn't celebrate it earlier because of the case, and now this…"

"Oh, Timmy! This is wonderful. " She ran over and hugged him tightly and kissed him on the cheek. Then she faced the rest of the team. "Thank you everyone. I feel so bad that I doubted you!"

"Cake anyone?" Tony spoke up from the table. No one seemed to mind the fact that the cake was burnt, or at least no one showed it.

Ducky raised his glass. "To Abby: Happy Birthday, my dear. And many more in the future."

A chorus of "Happy Birthday's" went around the table as glasses _clinked._

And that's how Abby's rainy, glum, everyone-forgot-my-birthday birthday turned out as one of her best.

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><p>I really didn't know how to end this, so I hope it came out all right! Let me know!<p>

Thanks for reading!

-Arsha


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